I stood there motionless, with my mouth dropped open and my eyes wide as could be. I absolutely could not believe what I was seeing in front of me. It had by far surpassed any expectations I had before the show.

So what exactly was it that I was watching?

Saturday night I headed to the Nevada County Fairgrounds to check out Jesse Olson's GVD Moto-X Jam - an event I had written about earlier in the week and was anxious to see in person.

Jesse, a local professional freestyle motocross rider himself, had rounded up the best riders in the business, built a course at the fairgrounds and organized an amazing two-day show.

Those guys you see on TV competing in the X-Games or Gravity Games who ride on the Dew Sports Action Tour - yeah, they were all in Grass Valley.

We're not talking about mediocre talent here, we're talking about the best the sport has to offer.

It would be like if Michael Jordan and his friends dropped in to play a basketball game at Ali Gymnasium. Or perhaps if Tiger Woods decided to play a round of golf at DarkHorse.

That's how amazing it was for a town the size of Grass Valley to draw such a great group of riders.

Throughout the years I've caught some freestyle motocross on TV here and there, but nothing could have prepared me for seeing it in person for the first time.

As the show's first rider Brian Foster flew off a jump for the first time, I felt my heart jump into my throat. Looking up from the ground and watching him fly some 35 feet above me, letting go of his bike to do a trick and then somehow getting back aboard it before he landed - breathtaking.

Every single time a rider let go of his dirt bike I think I gasped as my pulse raced at an unnatural speed. Their fearlessness absolutely mystified me.

And believe me, the danger involved in this sport is colossal. The second rider of the night, Jimmy Fitzpatrick, can attest to that fact.

As Jimmy flew off a jump, he missed his bike on a double grab move and we all watched in horror as Jimmy's bike flew over the hill one way and Jimmy came down the hill a few feet away from his bike.

The entire pit area I was standing in cleared out in a nanosecond as his fellow riders ran out to check on him. Amazingly, Jimmy walked out of the arena, a little sore, but generally all right.

His accident set the tone for the event, as anyone who didn't appreciate how dangerous the sport was before certainly did after his crash.

As the show continued I began to see some of the same release moves. Some of the other spectators in the pit explained the names of the moves to me with some of the most frequent being the heart attack, superman, lazy boy and no-handed lander.

My favorite rider, well other than our own local rider Jesse, had to be Dustin Miller, a two-time X Games medalist. The height he got off those jumps and the extent that he let go of his bike in the air left me speechless. Each time he flew through the air I thought we were going to witness another accident, but no, he always grabbed his bike at the last possible second.

The best part of the show had to have been at the end when all of the riders, well minus Fitzpatrick, raced all over the course at the same time. They flew over the jumps less than three seconds behind one another in rapid succession. Oftentimes riders were going over two separate jumps at the same time creating a fireworks grand finale feel to the final act.

Jesse is hoping to make the event an annual one, with this years' GVD Moto-X Jam drawing 2,000-2,500 spectators.

But honestly, with the level of talent Jesse brought to Grass Valley - the show should have been sold out.

I don't really consider myself much of a motocross fan, but I do consider myself a sports fan.

And motocross is one extremely exciting sport to witness. Next fall, when the show comes back to town, you'll be missing a great night if you don't check it out.

ooo

Sportswriter Stacy Hicklin's column appears on Wednesdays. To contact her e-mail stacyh@theunion.com or call 477-4244.